Why thinking about sound, smell and more can help your photography
The huge silence I felt definitely shaped the making of this image
I recently saw the film Tár
It is a very powerful piece of cinema and I recommend highly to everyone. The main theme of the film is the misuse of power. This is what has been fiercely debated in the reviews.
However, the film has many lessons to teach us about art. An early scene has the conductress Lydia Tár and a BIPOC student furiously debating the relevance of Bach today and the relevance of Bach’s lifestyle to his creative output. There are no easy answers to the questions posed in the film: viewers are encouraged to explore such questions for themselves.
One of the scenes that stayed with me was that of an electronic chime that disturbed Lydia while she was composing. At first she viewed it as a nuisance. Then it became lodged in her mind. It ended up being the catalyst for a melody that she created.
As photographers we are (hopefully) attuned to visual prompts
We appreciate the colours of the rising sun or the neon lights at night on the city street. We admire the shadows flickering on the wall in the morning. The frost on dead leaves inspires us, as does the sight of the lone figure walking in the landscape or through the town.
Whether or not we have our camera with us and whether or not we choose to make an image from what we see, these sights inform us. And so do many, many other views from our daily lives. The design of some packaging, the way a TV drama is shot and how other people look. All of this affects the development of how we create our images.
Sometimes we will be aware of these prompts and deliberately use their influence in our work. At other times what we see feeds into our subconscious and we may not be aware of what is affecting our image making. But, as visual artists, we are always processing what we see.
Maybe we should do this with sound as well
How often do we take notice of what we hear? How might sounds influence our work in a similar way to what we see. How does the sound of birdsong feel compared to heavy traffic at the same location? Would those different sounds encourage us to create a different image?
What about what we have heard earlier in the day? Will different sounds put us in a different mood? And will that affect our choice of subject, composition and feeling in what we create?
On photographer I know always listens to dark music whilst editing. And his pictures are always black and white with dark, heavy lowlights. Black dominates images. They are very powerful. They resonate with the type of music that he listens to. I wonder what would happen if he started listening to a lighter type of music whilst he edited?
We can repeat this process for our other senses
What I have just written about sounds applies equally to touch, smell and taste. For instance, Robert Smith from The Cure once claimed that he wrote a different style of song depending on which type of alcoholic drink he was consuming at the time!
Last year, I attended a workshop run by Paul Sanders. One of the most powerful exercises that I took away was to sit or stand where one was going to make an image. What could we hear? What did we feel? And what smells and tastes were present? Paul then encouraged us to write this down.
The purpose of this exercise was to encourage us to come up with words that we could use to accompany our images. But it has also encouraged me to think about why I am making an image and what I am really trying to capture in the visual element.
It may seem that this is an exercise simply for the outside. I have also found it useful when creating images inside. The exercise works just as well, although we may delve into memory more than the present.
How can we put all this simply into practice?
Here are three quick action points:
Try and be more conscious about what you are noticing with all of your senses during your daily lives. For instance, I watch television with a much more critical eye now
Sit with your eyes closed for five minutes before you make an image. Write down what has come into your mind (it doesn’t have to be a wonderful piece of prose: think of this as a set of sketch notes for your eyes only)
Try editing the same image to two very different pieces of music: I would love to see what you come up with as a result
Finally, I would encourage you to watch Tár. It is not always comfortable viewing but it is highly thought provoking.